NEWS: Revival, Part Deux: Honda President Dishes on New NSX Successor

The perpetual on-again, off-again rumors surrounding a new Honda/ Acura NSX have surfaced yet again, this time thanks in part to remarks made by none other than Takanobu Ito, president of the Honda Motor Company. Ito told Automotive News that the firm is still developing a new sports car -- designed to be a successor to the hallowed NSX -- but the car will be wildly different from its previous designs.

The original NSX, with its aluminum-intensive structure and mid-mounted V-6 engine, was dropped in 2005 after a 15-year production run. At the time, Honda was said to be developing a new supercar with a V-10 engine and output in the neighborhood of 500 horsepower. Those plans were scrapped in December of 2008, although a similar vehicle (albeit with a V-8) was campaigned in the Japanese Super GT race series in 2009.

The latest rumors suggest the new NSX could well be a hybrid -- and by Ito’s recent remarks, that appears to still be the plan. According to Automotive News, the next NSX will likely utilize a gasoline-electric hybrid driveline. Details are still sketchy, at best, but some rumors have alleged the new NSX could potentially pair Honda’s 3.5-liter V-6 with a full hybrid system, along with the torque-vectoring SH-AWD system (frequently seen here in Acura’s product portfolio). If so, total output could come in around the 400-horsepower mark.

Regardless of what will power it, it’s clear that an NSX replacement is on track. Ito himself says Honda’s engineering staff is “working very hard on it.” Could a hybrid Honda supercar live up to the legend of the original NSX? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

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